(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system of communication between two parties which also performs translation.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Recently, communication channels using computers have been developed. For example, communications are possible between online terminals with which several users transmit and receive information using displays. The terminals have a common host or are interconnected with a network. Development has also begun on a translation communication system in which such a communication system is combined with machine translation apparatus. This system is supposed to display transmitted or received natural language information between terminals after being translated, and is supposed to communicate natural language information smoothly for several users who speak different languages, respectively.
In such a translation communication system, however, translation processing should be performed in real time. Therefore, a user (transmitter) cannot edit his language information sufficiently as compared with normal machine translation apparatus. Moreover, conversation sentences to be translated include many omissions. Therefore, translation processing in the system lacks information for determining a translation for such incomplete sentences.
For this reason, if a communicated sentence is translated normally, it is difficult for a user (receiver) to understand the meaning of the translated sentence.
Specifically, translation communication systems should translate in real time. However, prior systems do not have sufficient information for selecting translated words if an incomplete sentence is input. Therefore, it is a problem as to how to translate conversation sentences exactly.